I, holding a long sword in my hand, only know one move

What happened after he was in the room, but when he was chatting with Ke Long, the task progress that jumped from 5% to 23% reminded him that there was indeed a lot of conflict between the two.

Because even if Cheng Rang couldn't read "air" very well, he could still see something from Rick's obviously changed eyes.

With his mouth closed and silent, Cheng Rang just continued to carefully clean the stains on Hubi's mechanical body.

At the same time, for some reason, Rick also felt an inexplicable disgust towards himself who looked down on machines. He said as if to hide his feelings: "Really... Before that, your behavior was called being neurotic."

"...? Although it is different from humans...Hubi has a 'nerve conduction circuit'..."

"That's not what I meant."

Rick's expression was mixed with a wry smile, and he sighed, while Hubie continued seriously:

"Even so... that's right, I didn't mean anything else... Hubie really... wants to know Rick's heart... it's not a lie..."

Rick decided to admit it—it wasn't an illusion.

Seeing Hubie with his head lowered, his voice unsteady and depressed, Rick sighed.

"Don't worry...I was too emotional back then."

This is really strange, Rick looks back on his feelings that he has not yet sorted out.

He knew that what he had done would not be justified, but even so, as an unchangeable fact, he actually apologized to one of the factors that pushed mankind into despair...? !

Sure enough, as soon as Rick said these words, Cheng Rang, who was behind Hubi, suddenly poked his head out with an incredulous expression on his face.

——You can actually say such a thing? !

Such a question seemed to be clearly written on that guy's face.

But to Rick's surprise, even though he was so curious, he wisely did not ask any questions, but immediately retracted his expression, and then immersed himself in scrubbing Hubi's back - the folded mechanical wings on it. The complex structure may give people a headache.

While Rick was thinking, Hubie asked in surprise: "Isn't it bad to be emotional?"

"Yeah, it's emotional - for example, even if I beat you in anger, that won't solve anything, right?"

"....But Rick wants to...beat Hubie...."

With a snap, very quickly, Cheng Rang dropped the rag in his hand, raised his head and looked directly at Rick.

Still silent, his wide eyes showed surprise - which probably meant: "If you fight this thing, will you go to heaven?"

"That's just what I said wrongly at the moment! No, who knows... To be honest, I don't understand myself..." Rick hurriedly waved his hands to explain, then lowered his head and fell silent, slowly raised his hand and moved A chess piece.

The conversation was interrupted again, and the sound of water, chess playing, and hot and humid steam made my head dizzy.

After a while, it was Hubi who broke the silence.

"Why did Rick... close your 'heart'?"

Cheng Rang pursed his lips without leaving any trace. It seemed that besides himself, Hubi had also noticed Rick's current state.

"Are you really reflecting on yourself? Don't you understand what it means to be considerate of others—"

Rick's voice suddenly stopped mid-cursing, and he got his answer when he was stared at by Cheng Rang and Hu Bi's two completely different eyes.

Hubie is a heartless machine... completely different from the heartless guy like Cheng. Regardless of whether she really has no heart or not, it can be said that she has no malicious intentions.

This guy really just wants to know... somewhere in Rick's heart is certain.

It’s not the Rick who thinks irrationally, is calculating and cold-hearted.

But I want to know the value of being an object of observation, the real Rick who has a heart.

——Crack.

Feeling the [Heart Lock] being opened, Rick finally sighed softly as if he relaxed:

"...Because in this kind of world, you can't survive if you don't do that..."

As long as you close your eyes, the scenery outside the cave appears as if imprinted on your eyelids.

The sky burned into red, and the earth was piled with blue and black gray. This scene stretched to the other side of the horizon, endless.

It was a world of death where one would die if one went out without a dust mask, or perhaps it was a world that was already dead.

"....Is that our fault Hubby?"

"have no idea."

In fact, Rick couldn't figure it out anymore.

"It doesn't matter whose fault it is...it's just that when it comes to the actual problems we face, if human beings want to live, if they don't close their hearts, they can only - destroy this world!... It's so unreasonable .”

Chapter 23 Hey Rick, are you blushing?

"Unreasonable...unreasonable, what is unreasonable...?"

Something is unreasonable.

Hearing Hubie's question, Rick couldn't help but want to laugh.

But then I thought about it, yes, it is indeed true. Really from a theoretical and rational point of view, there is nothing unreasonable.

Simply...

"The strong live, the weak die. There is no meaning and no reason. The rules of the world are like that... and the part that feels unreasonable about such a world,

It's probably the 'heart'...I don't really understand. "

Feeling something close to giving up, Rick continued to move the black chess pieces on the chessboard.

"...Hubby wants to know...Rick's heart, but..."

Hubby said every word: "Hubby... I don't want to hurt Rick... What should I do?"

Rick felt uncomfortable with what she said, so he asked: "Why do you care about me? I just want to know what your heart is like. Just treat me unceremoniously like before-"

"sorry"

Hubie apologized again, and Rick scratched his head as if he had a headache.

"Ah~ I don't want to bring up old things again, but don't you? What reason do you have to worry about me..."

Probably not. If the target is someone else, there may be concerns that communication will be interrupted.

But when you talk to Rick, you don't need to worry. Instead, you push him to the limit so that you can hear the true words.

"...have no idea."

Rick frowned when he heard Hubie's unclear answer for the first time.

"...I don't know. But, I want to avoid...causing harm to Rick."

"Oh! If you don't keep the analysis object in a natural state as much as possible, then you can't get the correct data, right?"

Rick said this half-jokingly in a rational and formulaic tone.

"...It feels different...Also, although the reason is unknown, but..." Hubie lowered his head and replied with a trembling voice: "That sentence just now... ..makes me very unhappy…”

The sense of disobedience turned into certainty that Rick's judgment when he and Hubie first met was indeed correct.

This Ex-Machina girl Hubie——is broken.

And it was an obvious abnormality. Even though she was not conscious of what she said just now, everyone could see that she was claiming that she had been hurt.

Is this a mechanical response? The guy who claims to not understand the heart...

Cheng Rang probably had the same question in his mind as Rick.

It is also possible to use the set simulated personality to deduce the appropriate response, and it is considered to be the category of acting.

But whether it's really acting or not, it's not easy to tell with Hubi's setting.

Rick said: "Let me ask you, have you been disconnected from the connector...have you been abandoned?"

"....Um."

She had heard the reasons and details, and they were obstacles caused by the paradox of self-referentiality and theoretical flaws.

Are you really yourself? What reason do you have for yourself? If you don't have a soft 'heart' like a human being, that's a problem that's hard to avoid.

Although it is cruel to say this, it is natural that she should be abandoned, but——

"In order to return to that connection, you want to analyze the 'heart' no matter what, but that has nothing to do with whether I am harmed——"

"...? I don't want to go back...oh."

Well?

Seeing Rick's puzzled expression after his train of thought was interrupted, Cheng Rang added for her: "Rick, from the moment we met her, she has never confirmed that she came back to analyze the 'heart' Information like the connection."

"Eh... But, no, then who ordered you to analyze the 'heart'?"

"Because I'm interested...judge for yourself..."

"Interest..." Cheng Rang muttered and repeated the word Hubi said, looking at Rick.

There was obvious astonishment in those eyes——

"You said interest - isn't that just emotion, that is, 'heart', isn't it?"

Rick said this immediately, and Hubie froze instantly.

"......have no idea."

"What?"

"...I don't know, what Rick said makes sense...But Hubie, he doesn't feel the importance...Why is that?"

"Would you like to ask me something like this?"

When she asked her seriously, Rick's expression tightened unconsciously.

"List answer candidates——"

"....It doesn't matter, as long as Rick is here, no interest, no meaning, no relevance, refuses synchronization, priority is analysis, not analysis but priority - understanding - [Error] [Contradiction] [Violation] [Error] [ Error】【Error】"

"Oh, it's so hot!" Cheng Rang's hand suddenly bounced away from the mechanical parts on Hubi's head, and it even started to smoke.

"Hey, hey! She's smoking! You seem to have burned her brain out, Rick!"

"Eh?! Me!"

"Cool down, cool down!"

The two of them were in a hurry, but fortunately Cheng Rang quickly scooped up a ladle of cold water and poured it on the hot part of Xiubi's head that was almost burning red.

Bah--

At the moment of contact, the sound of water being instantly evaporated was accompanied by the steam that filled the bathroom, making the surroundings hazy again.

After a few seconds, it seemed that the cooling effect had taken effect, or Hubie had resolved the error. She looked at Rick in front of her, nodded and answered:

"[The conclusion] seems to be that I don't want to go back."

The two stiffly stared at the girl in front of them, sighed at the same time as if they were relieved, and then looked at each other and smiled.

"What an ambiguous conclusion."

"Do you blame me..."

Hubie looked at the two of them

Moving left and right: "...can't be sure...according to that, but it seems like that."

"It's ambiguous..." Cheng Rang raised his elbow and poked Rick with a funny look on his face, "Is it possible that you and her had a bad relationship from a long time ago?"

Rick's face changed slightly and he smiled bitterly, and suddenly——

"...Ignore those...checkmates for now." Hubi finally moved the white piece on the chessboard and said calmly.

Cheng Rang whistled: "Rick lost again, wait, why did I say again?"

"Ah——! You guy, I was concentrating on the conversation and couldn't focus on the chess game, again!"

"Haha, are you coming again?" Cheng Rang couldn't help but laugh at Rick's behavior of wanting to keep playing even though he was obviously not good enough.

"I will definitely win the next game, I was just distracted this time!"

The boy was quibbling like this, his cheeks flushed with excitement, but maybe it was because of the high temperature steam here.